Approximately one half of drug-related taste distortions are caused by a zinc deficiency. Many medications are known to chelate, or bind, zinc, preventing the element from functioning properly. Due to the causal relationship of insufficient zinc levels to taste disorders, research has been conducted to test the efficacy of zinc supplementation as a possible treatment for dysgeusia. In a randomized clinical trial, fifty patients suffering from idiopathic dysgeusia were given either zinc or a lactose placebo. The patients prescribed the zinc reported experiencing improved taste function and less severe symptoms compared to the control group, suggesting that zinc may be a beneficial treatment. The efficacy of zinc, however, has been ambiguous in the past. In a second study, 94% of patients who were provided with zinc supplementation did not experience any improvement in their condition. This ambiguity is most likely due to small sample sizes and the wide range of causes of dysgeusia. A recommended daily oral dose of 25–100 mg appears to be an effective treatment for taste dysfunction provided that there are low levels of zinc in the blood serum. There is not a sufficient amount of evidence to determine whether or not zinc supplementation is able to treat dysgeusia when low zinc concentrations are not detected in the blood.

It has been reported that approximately 68% of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy experience disturbances in sensory perception such as dysgeusia. In a pilot study involving twelve lung cancer patients, chemotherapy drugs were infused with zinc in order to test its potential as a treatment. The results indicated that, after two weeks, no taste disturbances were reported by the patients who received the zinc-supplemented treatment while most of the patients in the control group who did not receive the zinc reported taste alterations. A multi-institutional study involving a larger sample size of 169 patients, however, indicated that zinc-infused chemotherapy did not have an effect on the development of taste disorders in cancer patients. An excess amount of zinc in the body can have negative effects on the immune system, and physicians must use caution when administering zinc to immunocompromised cancer patients. Because taste disorders can have detrimental effects on a patient's quality of life, more research needs to be conducted concerning possible treatments such as zinc supplementation.

Local damage and inflammation that interferes with the taste buds or local nervous system such as that stemming from radiation therapy, glossitis, tobacco use, and denture use also cause ageusia. Other known causes include loss of taste sensitivity from aging (causing a difficulty detecting salty or bitter taste), anxiety disorder, cancer, renal failure and liver failure.

Hypogeusia is a reduced ability to taste things (to taste sweet, sour, bitter, or salty substances). The complete lack of taste is referred to as ageusia.

Causes of hypogeusia include the chemotherapy drug bleomycin, an antitumor antibiotic as well as zinc deficiency.

Deficiency of vitamin B (niacin) and zinc can cause problems with the endocrine system, which may cause taste loss or alteration. Disorders of the endocrine system, such as Cushing's syndrome, hypothyroidism and diabetes mellitus, can cause similar problems. Ageusia can also be caused by medicinal side-effects from antirheumatic drugs such as penicillamine, antiproliferative drugs such as cisplatin, ACE inhibitors, and other drugs including azelastine, clarithromycin, terbinafine, and zopiclone.

Many types of sense loss occur due to a dysfunctional sensation process, whether it be ineffective receptors, nerve damage, or cerebral impairment. Unlike agnosia, these impairments are due to damages prior to the perception process.

Degrees of vision loss vary dramatically, although the ICD-9 released in 1979 categorized them into three tiers: normal vision, low vision, and blindness. Two significant causes of vision loss due to sensory failures include media opacity and optic nerve diseases, although hypoxia and retinal disease can also lead to blindness. Most causes of vision loss can cause varying degrees of damage, from total blindness to a negligible effect. Media opacity occurs in the presence of opacities in the eye tissues or fluid, distorting and/or blocking the image prior to contact with the photoreceptor cells. Vision loss often results despite correctly functioning retinal receptors. Optic nerve diseases such as optic neuritis or retrobulbar neuritis lead to dysfunction in the afferent nerve pathway once the signal has been correctly transmitted from retinal photoreceptors.

Partial or total vision loss may affect every single area of a person's life. Though loss of eyesight may occur naturally as we age, trauma to the eye or exposure to hazardous conditions may also cause this serious condition. Workers in virtually any field may be at risk of sustaining eye injuries through trauma or exposure. A traumatic eye injury occurs when the eye itself sustains some form of trauma, whether a penetrating injury such as a laceration or a non-penetrating injury such as an impact. Because the eye is a delicate and complex organ, even a slight injury may have a temporary or permanent effect on eyesight.